Ruby pasta - cooked with beets and wine!

I recently thought I'd see what it took to make some truly bright-red pasta out of your standard box of semolina shells.  Having some fresh beets on hand, I thought I'd boil them (scrubbed very well) and save the juice to cook my pasta in.  Since I'd recently seen Rachael Ray make spaghettini cooked in red wine on Iron Chef, I thought I'd supplement the beet juice with a cup of Cabernet.

Underwhelming pasta boiled in beet juice and red wine

I wasn't really expecting the results to be exactly what I was looking for... which is good because what came out into the bowl was a mass of slightly anemic purple pasta.  The wine had given a little flavor to the shells, which is nice, but the color was still off the mark. 

 Now THAT'S more like it!

The solution?  Cut up the freshly boiled beets and toss them with the still-hot pasta.  Viola!  Bright red pasta!  I tossed it with some olive oil to enhance the color with a rich sheen - then added roasted asparagus tips, garlic, salt/pepper and a squeeze of lemon!  So pretty, surprisingly easy... and oh so YUM! 

I'd love to hear from anyone who has tried cooking pasta in wine or beets (or both!)... or just any unconventional pasta-cooking wisdom!

PS - Yes, I took these pictures on the snow-covered picnic table in the backyard of my building... SO COLD, and yes, I looked insane to my neighbors.  Yay!

Roasted Cauliflower Pasta: 3 Ingredient Recipe #2

3 Ingredient Recipe: Roast Cauliflower Pasta w/Goat Cheese

Day two of my challenge got some help from a post from TheKitchn.com .  I subscribe to the site's newsletter and yesterday as I hashed over ideas for getting more flavor out of 3 ingredients, I received their email with piece called How To Roast Any Vegetable .  As I was planning on making a dish today that I knew would have cauliflower in it, this was perfect.

This recipe for a simple pasta dish gives you a chance to take notice of individual textures and find nuances in a common vegetable normally found pan fried, boiled or muted in sauces or breadings.  Here the roasted cauliflower is crisp, bright and smoky.  Tangy goat cheese is sauteed to create a caramelized crust and oozing rich center.

For a refresher on the rules of my 10 day, 3 ingredient challenge, check out the first post.

3 things to get...

1. 1 head of cauliflower - chopped
2. 4 cups of bow tie pasta (or similar)
3. 8 ounces of goat cheese (tube shape preferred)

What to do with it...

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
  
• Toss cauliflower in olive oil to coat, paying special attention to coat the floret tops so they brown evenly
  
• Place cauliflower into a roasting pan and roast for 20 minutes, checking occasionally and shaking/turning to get even browning
  
• Cut half the goat cheese into 1/4 rounds and set aside
  
• Prepare pasta according to instructions and drain, place in large bowl
  
• Toss hot pasta with the uncut half of your cheese and 2 tablespoons olive oil and set aside, covered
  
• Heat enough olive oil to a skillet to coat bottom evenly
  
• Add your 1/4 cheese rounds and saute on medium heat for 1-2 minutes until brown, watching carefully
  
• Carefully flip rounds with a metal spatula (cheese may cling to rubber/wood) and saute another 1-2 minutes, then transfer to paper towels to absorb excess oil
  
• Remove your roasted cauliflower from the oven and add to pasta along with salt and pepper to taste
  
• Serve immediately in individual bowls topped with sauteed goat cheese rounds
  

2 down, 8 to go!